In order to be in demand by consumers, attractive motor vehicles must, in addition to being high-tech, must be imbued with a stylish design, which separates the vehicle from the crowd. One aspect in designing a new vehicle involves a departure from known proportions, for example in such a way that the windshield is shifted more toward the front in comparison to known vehicle models.
During the technical implementation of this envisaged design, it must be borne in mind that, after incorporating a windshield shifted even more toward the front during the manufacturing process, the engine area near the bulkhead comes to abut the components to be installed there, for example the coolant expansion tank, under the anterior region of the windshield, making it harder, if not impossible, to access.
To illustrate the mentioned problems, FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a passenger car, the middle of which was made parallel to the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle. In this vehicle of prior art, the bulkhead has a bulkhead section 1 extending perpendicularly upward, branching away at a bending point 2. A first section, referred to as the upper front bulkhead 3, extends forwardly toward the front side of the motor vehicle or bends in the negative x, that is, the (−x) direction. A second section, referred to as upper rear bulkhead 4, runs largely perpendicularly upward. The upper rear bulkhead 4 is then welded with a reinforcement section 5, which ends up forming a window support 6 for the windshield 7. A service panel 8 most often comprised of plastic rests on the upper front bulkhead 3.
If the windshield 7 in this known passenger car is drawn toward the front (i.e., in the (−x) direction), the area of the engine bay near the bulkhead can no longer be accessed directly from above. This holds true in particular with respect to the mentioned bending point 2, meaning the bending point at the upper bulkhead (formed by the upper front bulkhead 3 and upper rear bulkhead 4)/lower bulkhead 1, where a bond or seal is to be established to prevent any rust from forming there. In a windshield drawn more toward the front, the sealing material can no longer be applied largely in a perpendicular manner from above, but at best at an inclination from below. However, the quality of the seal may suffer due to a hampered accessibility.
If necessary, the cited problem could be resolved by changing the sequence of assembly operations at the factory, i.e., by first fitting or machining the engine bay area near the bulkhead, and finishing by mounting the windshield. However, this measure significantly influences the entire operational sequence, resulting in considerable technical modifications and high costs.
One object of an embodiment of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle that has a windshield that is drawn further forward by comparison to a conventional design, and still has a readily accessible bending point between the upper bulkhead/lower bulkhead even after the windshield has been assembled during the motor vehicle manufacturing process, so that this bending point can be reliably sealed off. In addition, other objects, desirable features, and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.